Any discussion of what the church should do must include worship. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God’s people are called to minister to God in worship. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). The church is the temple of God, and believers are the priests. They offer themselves and their praise as sacrifices to God:

• “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
• “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

The word worship comes from an Old English term meaning “to give God worth.” We worship by glorifying God with our mouths and our lives. Our focus in worship is to minister to the Lord; that is, we focus on God, not ourselves. The Holy Spirit helps us in our worship by revealing the presence of God. “When the person of God is revealed in our worship, there is an electricity, an atmosphere of expectancy, joy, hope, and peace. Without a sense of God’s nearness, worship is about as exciting as reading the minutes to the last board meeting” (Morgenthaler 1990, 97).

The worship that the church gives to God must be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24; Philippians 3:3). Worship is a time when God’s people seek to glorify Him by praising Him, singing, praying, and giving (Acts 2:42–46; 1 Corinthians 16:1–2; Ephesians 5:19–20). The ministry of the Word is an important part of worship. We also observe the Lord’s Supper as a part of worship.

A Pentecostal church makes room for the move of the Holy Spirit as a part of worship. “Worship should be marked by the varied ministries of the Spirit that build up the worshippers spiritually and give honor to God” (Klaus 1994, 586). Speaking in tongues, interpretation, prophecy, and the other gifts of the Spirit are all vital parts of worship (1 Corinthians 12–14). “Whatever the need of the church, the Spirit has given some gift to meet it” (Menzies and Horton 1993, 168). As we worship in the Spirit, He speaks to us (Acts 13:2), and His power is revealed. The spiritual, worshipping church has an arsenal of supernatural power.